There will be an open house at Station 3 this Sunday May 27th from 1pm-4pm. This is a great chance to check out the inside of an Ambulance, see all the Equipment and meet some of the Firefighter/Paramedics that provide Emergency Medical Services from both Ambulances and Fire Trucks.

Council supports new build for Fire Station 1

St. Albert’s Village Transit Station on Gate Avenue could be re-purposed for a new fire hall if a rezoning of the station’s land is approved later this year.

The rezoning application is expected to come to council in the third quarter of 2018.

On Monday, city councillors agreed to support a new fire hall to replace Fire Station 1, which is approaching the end of its life cycle.

The fire station in question was originally constructed in 1962 and has been renovated three times. A rebuild of the station has been on hold since 2010.

“The current state of most of the building, and services such as roof, heating, plumbing and electrical, are well past their serviceable life,” said St. Albert Fire Chief Keven Lefebvre at Monday’s council meeting.

Lefebvre and deputy fire chief Darrel Bliss presented the results of a feasibility study to council as well as the proposal to change the scope of the fire hall’s reconstruction to have a new building constructed on Gate Avenue in 2020.

“The outcomes of the feasibility study are that the current site is too small for a modern fire hall, and that ongoing service delivery requirements … may not be achievable without significant additional costs while the current site is undergoing a major rebuild,” he said.

Prior to Monday’s council meeting, councillors were given a tour of the fire station.

Coun. Jacquie Hansen said the building was “very 1962ish,” with crumbling walls and leaks.

“I look forward to the public consultation and the feedback we receive there, and hopefully moving forward with this,” she said.

Coun. Natalie Joly said the age of the building is apparent.

“It’s not a great place for our guys to be working,” she said.

“It has been delayed over and over and it’s time for us to make a decision.”

The city already had just over $1 million set aside in 2018 to fund a design for the fire hall’s reconstruction. The repair, maintenance and replacement portion of the city’s 10-year capital plan will include $12.4 million in 2020 for construction of the new building.

Village Transit Station brings fire services closer to demand

The city plans to close Village Transit Station after the construction of the Campbell Road Park and Ride Transit Centre, and that land could become available in 2019 or 2020.

The size of the Village Transit Station site would allow a fire hall to grow as needed to 2050, and the new fire hall would have nearly twice the square footage of the current one.

Lefebvre told councillors the site would also provide better access to the southern and eastern areas of St. Albert without affecting response times to downtown or central St. Albert.

In order for the city to build on that site, it would need to be rezoned and public open houses would be held in the third quarter of 2018.

Coun. Sheena Hughes said she foresees some challenges in the fall when the rezoning application comes forward.

She said she has been hearing support from some transit users for keeping Village Transit Station open.

She suggested the city look into whether some of the extra land on the site could be used to keep transit services available.

Both Hughes and Coun. Ken MacKay said they would like to see possibilities for joint uses of the site.

Firefighters rescue man from Inglewood fire

A St. Albert man is in hospital suffering smoke inhalation and some burns after firefighters rescued him from an apartment fire in Inglewood on Sunday.

Firefighters responded to a call at 3:47 p.m. after a cigarette ignited a couch in one of the suites at 44 Inglewood Drive at the Sierras of Inglewood building.

Fire services arrived on the scene seven minutes later and were surprised to find a 66-year-old man, who lived in the unit, was still inside the suite.

St. Albert Fire Chief Keven Lefebvre said that the man was conscious when the fire department arrived and was brought out of the building by the firefighters.

“He didn’t appreciate the risk,” Lefebvre said. “There was a lot of smoke in there and it surprised the firefighters that he was still in there with the amount of smoke.”

The alarm in the building went off and all of the other residents safely evacuated the building. Seventeen fire personnel and all three stations responded to the fire. Firefighters say it is the second fire in a month sparked by a cigarette.

A dog was also brought out of the unit by the fire department and was in good condition. The dog was left with the building manager and the owner’s daughter eventually picked up the dog.

Lefebvre said that the man was awake and talking to the fire medics while they were transporting him to the hospital.

“When we transferred care to the hospital he was okay, other than he did have some burns and he will be suffering a little bit from smoke inhalation,” Lefebvre said.

The fire chief said that the sprinkler system was activated in the building, which prevented the fire from spreading. When the fire department arrived on the scene the fire was basically extinguished but there was still a lot of smoke in the unit.

“They said that the sprinkler almost created a halo of water around him and that could have prevented him from inhaling more smoke. He was lucky,” Lefebvre said.

The building suffered $400,000 in damage from the incident and Lefebvre said that it was mostly due to water damage from the sprinkler system. The tenants and condo association have insurance to cover the damages.

Lefebvre said that four or five suites suffered water damage. Occupants of two suites are now displaced.

The suite below the unit where the fire broke out suffered damage from sprinklers and the unit is currently uninhabitable.

Lefebvre said the woman who lives in the lower unit is away right now and her unit will likely be restored by the time she returns. The 66-year-old man is still in the hospital but Lefebvre said that he has family to stay with once he is released.

The fire chief said that by Sunday night restoration crews were on the scene mopping up water and putting in dehumidifiers.

This is the third fire in the city in less than a month.

A cigarette in a planter was the cause of a large blaze on Friday, March 3 that caused around $1 million in damages and left two Heritage Lane families homeless. Another fire was sparked earlier in the week after a plastic container was placed on a stove and the burner was bumped on.

Lefebvre said that smokers can prevent fires by using proper receptacles for their cigarettes.

“Smoking has become socially unacceptable and people try to hide it a bit and don’t have ashtrays around the house anymore,” Lefebvre said.

A cigarette in a planter was the cause of a fire last week that left two Heritage Lane families homeless and caused about $1 million in damages.

About 40 St. Albert firefighters and four fire trucks swarmed 64 Heritage Lane at noon on Friday after a passing motorist reported a fire at that address. The house is one half of a duplex in the Heritage Lane II subdivision near the Riel Industrial Park.

Johannes Bosch, a senior and owner of the house in question, said that the young woman he rented the home to had come home from a meeting and smelled something funny in the home. Soon, she spotted smoke rolling across the ceiling.

“All of a sudden she sees flames shooting up like crazy” from the front of the house, Bosch said.

The woman, who did not wish to give her name, alerted her babysitter upstairs to the fire. The two of them escaped out the back door with the woman’s two-year old son, Bosch said.

Andy Nikiforuk said he was next door at 65 Heritage Lane visiting his daughter, son-in-law, and their baby when the fire broke out. A passing truck driver had spotted the fire and knocked on their door to warn them.

“When we saw what was going on, we got the dog and the baby out,” said Nikiforuk, warming up in the car of his son-in-law’s father.

“I could see under the cupola (over the door) that there was something right on the ground that was burning,” he said.

The fire spread to the cupola and engulfed the front corner of the duplex in about 15 minutes, he continued.

The outside of the home was ablaze when firefighters arrived, said St. Albert fire chief Keven Lefebvre.

As thick white smoke poured from the home’s doors and windows, firefighters in oxygen masks cautiously ventured inside to hose down the interior. Crews hacked open parts of the garage overhang with pikes and took a chainsaw to the garage door. They also took hoses into 65 Heritage Lane, a pair of balloons from a birthday party held there the previous weekend escaping as they did so.

The fire left the inside and much of the front of 64 Heritage scorched black and melted a large patch of the siding on 63 Heritage Lane (the neighbouring duplex). The fire also reportedly damaged the walls of 65 Heritage.

The fire caused roughly $1 million in damages, with 64 and 65 Heritage likely total losses due to extensive smoke and fire damage, Lefebvre said.

While it was a bit of a shock to lose his home, Bosch was resigned to it, saying that it was just a home and that he was glad everyone was safe. His tenant had a place to stay and was fully insured.

Nikiforuk said that his daughter would likely stay with either him or her husband’s parents while they got back on their feet.

Fire investigators have determined that this blaze was sparked by a cigarette put out in a planter in front of the home, Lefebvre said – something that happens way too often in Alberta.

Planters are made mostly of very flammable peat moss, yet people often jam them full of cigarette butts, Lefebvre said. The resulting fire can smoulder for days before suddenly bursting alight to ignite vinyl siding, walls, and homes.

“Disposing of a cigarette into a potted plant is bad news,” Lefebvre said. He urged all smokers to get a proper fireproof receptacle in which to dispose of their cigarette butts.

A group of St. Albert firefighters are roughing it for a good cause, sleeping in a tent that contains just four beds, a table and some electrical cords from Sunday to Wednesday.

They’re camping on the roof of Fire Station 2 on 100 Boudreau Road to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.

Firefighter paramedic Jay Howells is one of four St. Albert firefighters participating in the eighth annual fundraiser.

He said the weather has been a challenge for firefighters participating in similar fundraisers across the country, but he hopes his team has better luck.

“Some of our brothers and sisters to the south had a tent collapse on them with the heavy snow,” Howells said. “But it looks like we’ve got blue skies in the forecast, so hopefully the weather co-operates. But if not, people can come out and feel sorry for us and donate.”

First responders waved down vehicles beside the fire station Sunday in an effort to collect donations and raise awareness among community members.

The event has raised more than $300,000 over the past seven years, according to the event’s website. This year, the rooftop campers are hoping to raise $50,000, Howells said.

“If we could exceed that, that would be great. The people of St. Albert have always been kind to us and we ask that they just come down and donate. It’s for a great cause.”

Funds raised will go toward research, support services and equipment for people with neuromuscular disorders, according to the website.